Two more illnesses reported in Missouri from tainted cantaloupe

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri health officials said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed two more illnesses in Missouri that are linked to tainted cantaloupe.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services said Thursday that Missouri now has had three cases of listeria that are tied to contaminated fruit grown on a farm in Colorado.

Missouri health officials said all three people had to be hospitalized. The state health agency said a 94-year-old died, but local medical officials determined listeria was not the cause of death.

A national outbreak has caused dozens of illnesses and more than a dozen deaths in 18 states. Most healthy adults can consume listeria with no ill effects. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches and gastrointestinal problems.